Saving Bolly
by KimiPie
Summary: The release of Lance Dowele means more to Alex Drake than anyone could have imagined. Can Alex prevent what happens in the future with the teams help? Or will her deep involvement get her into trouble? Only one man can help save Bolly from herself...
1. Chapter 1

This is my first Ashes to Ashes fanfic, comments and criticism are welcome (please don't be too harsh hehe)

I'd like to say thank you to wobbleduck for being my beta and so much more...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything to do with Ashes to Ashes.

* * *

The day started like every other, Alex had been asleep, wrapped up nice and warm, dreaming of things that had happened a long time ago, but now she was awake, her eyes fixed onto the wall in front of her. It was then, staring at the wall, when she realised something, and only one word came into her head, "Fuck" she thought to her self, that one word was enough to sum up the rest of the day ahead.

Eventually Alex got out of bed, glancing at the clock as she did. With a small sigh, she made her way to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she was showered and dressed, sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee in her hand.

She checked her self over in the mirror before leaving for work, she didn't really want to go to work today, but decided that it would be for the best if she was kept busy. Or at least that is what she had drilled into her own head. It was a clear day, so she had decided to walk, take the time to clear her head enough to be able to concentrate at work.

Alex arrived at CID to find that everybody else was already in. She slunk quietly to her desk, keeping her head down, hoping that nobody had noticed that she was the last in. She didn't want to be noticed, at least not yet. Unfortunately for her, everybody looked up as they heard the doors swing closed behind her.

Ignoring them, she sat down at her desk, still not looking at anybody, wishing for the work day to go quickly so that she could get out of there. Keeping her head down, she got on with her work, not really paying attention to what everybody around her were talking about. That was until she heard the words 'released' and 'prison'. She lifted her head up slightly, continuing with her work, not wanting them all to realise that she had taken an interest in their conversation topic.

Soon she had forgotten about her work and was sat listening intently to the conversation that Ray and Chris were having, she had so far learned that the person they were talking about had been released from prison, Ray was making sure that they didn't tell her why he had been put away in the first place, Gene had asked him not to.

"His release has been all over the news and in the papers," Chris shouted over to her, receiving a sharp kick from Ray for saying too much.

Ray kept on glancing over at Alex; he knew that they shouldn't be talking about this, especially in front of her. He had been careful not to name any names so far, and hoped that Chris could do the same, though Ray wasn't holding his breath over that one. Alex eventually got up from her desk and walked over to where the others were sitting, perching herself on the end of Ray's desk, curiosity having gotten the better of her.

Gene had been watching Alex since she came into work, it was rare that she was in after everybody else, but today he was going to let it pass, he knew what today was. He just hoped that the two idiots sat talking to her would keep quiet about everything. He was sure that she knew Lance was going to be released soon; he just didn't think she knew that it would be today. If Alex found out, it would break her.

"So…" Gene heard her say. "Who is it then? I seem to have missed the morning newspaper, and I can't remember the last time I watched the news"

Gene waited to see who would answer; he knew neither of them would be able to deny her an answer, especially with her being their D.I. It was Chris who finally spoke.

"Oh, you know 'im…that Lance guy…got put away a few years ago…" He trailed off, seeing the looks that both Gene and Ray were giving him, he had said too much.

"Lance?" Alex questioned.

Chris looked at Gene, who was indicating for him not to say anything else. He looked away, and nobody else answered her.

"Lance??" She asked, more insistent this time.

Again nobody answered her, for fear of upsetting her, or worse, upsetting Gene. They could tell that she was getting angry, and still they didn't say anything, and for that, Gene was grateful.

Alex looked at each of them in turn, she even glanced at Shaz, who, up until now, had been sat quietly typing at her desk. Seeing the expressions on their faces, she knew that she wouldn't get any answers from them, they respected Gene too much. She knew he was watching her from his office door, she could feel his presence there, that and the fact that Chris kept on looking over towards the office with a worried look on his face.

"Drake…My office," Gene said firmly, before she could ask them again.

Alex turned to face Gene, standing still, just staring at him for a few seconds before she eventually walked over to him. She heard the others sigh with relief behind her and almost turned around to glare at them, but thought better of it and carried on into Gene's office.

He followed her in and closed the door behind him, watching Alex as she paced the length of his office. He continued to watch her, waiting for her to either stop pacing or to shout at him, he knew which one he would prefer.

"Lance who, Gene?" She asked eventually, standing still, facing away from him.

"Lance who?" She all but screamed, turning to face him when he didn't answer straight away. She had an idea of who it could be, she just needed confirmation, but she hoped that she was wrong.

Gene glanced down at the floor before lifting his head up to look her in the eyes. If he was going to tell her, then he would tell her to her face. He waited until she looked directly at him before answering her quietly.

"Lance Dowele"


	2. Chapter 2

This is my first Ashes to Ashes fanfic, comments and criticism are welcome (please don't be too harsh hehe)

I'd like to say thank you to wobbleduck for being my beta and so much more...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything to do with Ashes to Ashes.

* * *

Alex closed her eyes and turned away from him, she knew it had been him that they were talking about; there wasn't that many Lance's due to be released from prison any time soon. Still facing away from him, Alex spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked him quietly. Gene just sat there, lowering his head to look at the floor. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked him again, not giving him a chance to answer, almost screaming the words at him. Alex turned to face him, the expression on her face daring him not to answer her.

"Didn't 'ave chance to did I" He told her, "You came into work late, then you perched your arse on Ray's desk and listened to them lot out there. By the time I realised you were in, they'd already told you anyway."

Alex realised that he was right, she hadn't let him know she was in, not even Viv had seen her come in, only those in the main room had known she was there. She softened a little, turning her body away from him slightly she spoke again.

"Do you know…Who he was…What he did…?" She asked him, her voice cracking a little towards the end of the question. She looked at him, waiting for him to answer her, when he didn't reply she looked away in anger and made for the office door.

"Alex..." Gene trailed off, not knowing what to say to her.

Alex stilled, her hand on the door handle, she didn't turn around, but she waited for him to continue. When he didn't say anything she turned around to see him sat on the edge of his desk, his head down, looking at the floor. Her curiosity at his sudden silence got the better of her, and she gave in, walking back towards him.

"Gene?" she asked him quietly, standing still directly in front of him, hands on her hips.

When he still didn't answer her, or even lift his head up to acknowledge the fact that she had spoken to him, her anger overcame all of her other senses, making her completely forget where the argument was taking place.

"Are you going to answer me Gene, or are you just going to wait until I'm almost out of your office again before deciding to talk," She shouted at him, not caring who heard her. "You may as well just speak now Gene, because if I get to that door again, I will continue walking out of it, no matter how hard you try and stop me."

She stood there, mentally counting to ten in her head. She was at nine when he spoke.

"Lance Dowele," he started, opening the one of the files that was on his desk. "Lance Dowele is a piece of scum that officers arrested and got him sent down long before I arrived here. He was arrested for the kidnapping of two little girls and the rape of their babysitter. If the parents of the two little girls had not come home early he may have killed the babysitter."

He stopped reading and looked at her, watching her reaction to his words, waiting for her to interrupt, when she didn't he continued. "He heard the parents' car pull up and fled out of the backdoor, taking the girls with him. The babysitter was too traumatised to try and stop him."

Gene stopped reading again, and waited for Alex to sit down. He had seen her out of the corner of his eye, moving slowly towards his chair. Once she had sat down, he turned so that he was facing her; he could see that what he was reading was affecting her, and contemplated whether or not he should continue. Then he remembered that she had demanded him to answer her so he continued.

"The parents called the police, and eventually the babysitter gave a description of Lance. The kids were found in an abandoned house down the road from where the family lived, they were still alive. The babysitter moved she couldn't cope with living in the area." Gene stopped again, he had read out the main part. He looked up at her, and saw that she was just staring, as though she hadn't heard a word he had said.

"That what you wanted to know Bolly?" He got off the table and stood directly in front of her, "Is that what you wanted me to tell you?" He was getting angry at her now; he knew he didn't have to tell her, the look on her face told him that she already knew. He just couldn't work out how she knew; he didn't even think she had heard about the case.

He looked towards the rest of CID, waiting for a response from Alex. When he didn't get one, he kneeled down in front of her and looked directly into her eyes, exactly what he was looking for Alex couldn't tell but neither could she answer. Minutes passed but Gene still said nothing. She could see he was controlling his urge to yell at her and she was grateful. But how on earth was she going to explain this to him? Eventually she brought her eyes to his, summoning all her courage and spoke in a small childlike voice "Do you really want to know?"

Gene sensed that she needed a bit more privacy than she had and stood up to close the blinds. When he turned back to face her, he noticed that she was still looking at him, waiting for an answer, "It might…'elp" He told her, his anger subsided when he realised how scared she was. "Start from the beginning" Gene encouraged her.

Alex sighed, 'where was the beginning?' she thought to herself. Taking a deep breath she spoke, "I have…had a friend, Sarah; we were best friends for five years, went everywhere and did everything together when we could. She had a babysitting job when we were 15. She used to baby-sit for this family who lived on the same street as us. She used to baby-sit alone, that was the first time I was allowed to go with her." She paused, taking a shaky breath in, continuing before Gene could interrupt her.

"The children had gone to bed already and we were sat talking, waiting for their parents to come home. We heard a thud coming from the children's bedroom, so I went up to see if they were alright, I needed the toilet anyway." She could feel her eyes welling up at the thought of what she remembered, of what was yet to come. "I got upstairs and the noise had woken the youngest one up. So I sat with him for a while, singing quietly until he went back to sleep."

Alex paused again, closing her eyes for a brief moment. When she opened them again she saw Gene watching her intently, waiting patiently for her to continue. Closing her eyes again, she began to speak.

"I crept back downstairs so that I wouldn't wake him back up again and I heard another thud, it came from the living room this time, but I couldn't hear Sarah. I heard another thud and then I heard her..." Alex was almost crying, she didn't dare open her eyes for the fear that the tears would fall.

Alex had lifted her feet up off the floor and curled them underneath her body on the chair, as though she was trying to protect herself. Gene had noticed this, but didn't say anything; he thought that if he interrupted her then she would stop completely. He needed her to tell him everything she knew, no matter how traumatizing it was. He moved around to the other side of his desk, sitting on the edge, waiting for her to continue.

Opening her eyes she saw that Gene had moved closer to her, for which she was grateful, but she stayed curled up on the chair. He was looking at her, not staring, but looking, as though trying to figure something out, what that was, Alex didn't know. Still Gene didn't say anything.

Remembering everything made Alex sob, the tears rolled freely down her face, but she didn't care anymore. Gene made to move towards her but she shook her head, she was still speaking, but the sobs were drowning everything out, Gene could hardly understand anything she was saying, but he picked up the odd couple of words. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he didn't know what she was saying, her body was shaking with the sobs, she was crying freely now.

Gene stood up off the desk and lifted her off the chair, sitting down in it with her in his arms. She clung to him, the tears rolling down her cheeks. They sat there for a short while, Gene rocking her back and forth, stroking her back comfortingly, Alex resting her head on his chest, holding on to his arm like a small child.


	3. Chapter 3

This is my first Ashes to Ashes fanfic, comments and criticism are welcome (please don't be too harsh hehe)

I'd like to say thank you to wobbleduck for being my beta and so much more...

AN: Just like to say thank you to all of you who have reviewed both of the chapters so far...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything to do with Ashes to Ashes.

* * *

_Gene stood up off the desk and lifted her off the chair, sitting down in it with her in his arms. She clung to him, the tears rolling down her cheeks. They sat there for a short while, Gene rocking her back and forth, stroking her back comfortingly, Alex resting her head on his chest, holding on to his arm like a small child._

She had stopped crying, but her breathing was still uneven and shaky. "Thank you," She whispered, lifting her head from his chest, looking at him.

Neither of them moved, Gene knew that she needed a while and he didn't care that she was sat on his lap, in his office. Alex let go of his arm and placed her hand gently on his chest, above his heart. "It's ok Bolly…it's ok." The use of his nickname for her caused Alex to give a small smile. She sighed and made to get up from his lap, but Gene held her there, wanting to hold her forever. He opened his mouth to say something but thought about it and instead closed his mouth without saying a word. He loosened his grip on her, giving her the chance to leave his lap. Alex took that chance and stood up, walking around to the other side of Gene's desk before she turned back to look at him.

"Lance will do it again Gene, he may have been in prison, but he will do it again." She told him with a tone of sadness in her voice. She had known that Sarah wasn't Lance's first kill; she had known that there were others before her, but she couldn't tell Gene that, she needed Gene to understand why Lance needed to be put back in prison, but she couldn't just come out and tell him. "'E won't, 'e's learnt 'is lesson, 'e's bein' watched, and 'e knows it," Gene replied, not noticing the sadness in her voice.

"He will do it again Gene, just because he has been in prison for rape and kidnapping does not mean that he is clean from it all. It does not mean that he will give it all up. He will do it again, and he will get worse, the next time he will kill." Alex was shouting at him by the time she had finished her speech, angry at him for not understanding.

"You don't know that." Gene shouted back at her, "Lance 'as done 'is time, 'e won't try it again." He leaned forwards in his chair as he spoke, "'is case is done with, we leave 'im alone, got it."

Alex sighed, she had thought she was getting somewhere, thought that Gene would understand this. "Were you even listening when I told you about my friend?" She whispered, aware that their shouting would have caused everybody outside Gene's office to have their ears pricked up; waiting to know what was going to happen. "Of course I was listening, what do you take me for?" Gene told her, almost shouting.

"She wasn't his first, he had been in prison once before, hadn't even killed for that, but he had been in prison, then he was released and he started again, and he killed." Alex was getting frustrated with him now; she didn't know how much more of him she could take. She was on her way out of the door when he spoke again.

"Just because your friends killer had been in prison does not mean that Lance will kill." Alex just stared at him; she didn't have anything to say to him, he just would not listen. Gene took her silence as a sign of defeat, he had won this argument. He gave her a smug look and indicated that their conversation was over. Alex stormed out of his office without saying a word, Gene watched her through the doorway, expecting her to sit back at her desk and get on with her paperwork, but she didn't, she continued out of the main office.

Everybody watched her leaving Gene's office, but didn't say anything; they also watched her leave the main office and followed her down the corridor as far as the windows would let them. Once she was out of site, they all turned to Gene. "Not a bloody word," he told them, grabbing his coat and following Alex out of the office.

Alex walked silently through the corridors, keeping her eye out for the rest of the team. Hearing footsteps coming her way, she ran to the nearest room, it just happened to be the ladies toilets. Locking herself in one of the cubicles, she didn't make a sound, waiting for the footsteps to pass. She couldn't face them, not today, she just couldn't.

Alex slowly unlocked the cubicle and made her way back into the corridor, seeing nobody about she walked quickly past the windows of the main office, keeping her head down. She didn't want to be noticed; she walked straight to the reception area and out of the front door. Reaching the front steps, Alex took a deep breath, closing her eyes; opening them again she made her way down the steps. Before she could cross the road she heard someone shouting her, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Gene, quickly making his way towards her. She closed her eyes for just a moment and took another deep breath; releasing it she looked back in front of her and carried on walking, not looking back once.

Today had been too much, she told herself, just too much.


	4. Chapter 4

This is my first Ashes to Ashes fanfic, comments and criticism are welcome (please don't be too harsh hehe)

I'd like to say thank you to wobbleduck for being my beta and so much more...

AN: Just like to say thank you to all of you who have reviewed both of the chapters so far...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything to do with Ashes to Ashes.

* * *

Alex continued walking until she reached Luigi's. She walked straight over to the bar and gave Luigi a forced smile. "Can I have a bottle of wine to take upstairs please Luigi?" She asked him, before he could ask her if she was alright, "Actually, you had better make that two." Luigi took a look at Alex and decided to give her the bottles without asking any questions, if she wanted to talk to him, she would.

"I'm going upstairs," She told him, walking towards the stairs that lead to her flat. She turned around ready to say something else, but decided against it and just smiled instead. Alex had just gotten to the top of the stairs when she heard the door open to the pub below. She contemplated staying where she was; listen to see if she could hear anything from downstairs, then remembered the bottles of red wine in her hands and unlocked the door to her flat and went inside, leaving the door unlocked behind her.

Gene came through the door and walked straight over to the bar, Luigi wasn't at the bar, but out the back. Gene was just about to shout him when he came out the front. "Ahhh, Signor Hunt, why do you and the lovely Signorina Drake have to fight all the time? Where is the love? The passion?"

Gene just glared at Luigi, "Whiskey chaser, an' make it snappy, I aint got all bloody day." As soon as Luigi's back was turned, he glanced towards the stairs that lead to Alex's flat, debating whether or not to go up. Unbeknown to him, Luigi was watching his every move, and placed the drink down in front of Gene without a word. Gene swallowed down the drink in one mouthful and put the glass back down on the bar. "'Nother Luigi," He nodded his head towards the glass, then turned back to glance at the stairs again. A few seconds later Luigi appeared at the bar with another drink for Gene. He placed it on the bar and said nothing; instead he just smiled at him, knowingly.

Gene stared across the bar, swirling the liquid in his glass, lost in thought. After a second or two, coming to a decision, he looked down at his glass and drank it down in one go. Leaving the glass on the bar, he stood up and walked purposely to the stairs to Alex's flat. He didn't know that Luigi was still watching him, smiling.

Gene reached the top of the stairs and immediately began pounding on the door. Inside Alex was lazing about on her sofa, wine glass clutched to her chest. The sudden and incessant knocking made her jump violently, nearly spilling the wine on herself. There was only one person who knocked like that and she was in no mood to face him. Sighing she got up to answer the door, psyching herself up, ready tell him to piss the hell off and leave her alone.

Alex stood on the inside of the closed door, giving her top a wipe down she opened the door and just looked at Gene, he had a look about him. "'Bout bloody time an' all," He said, giving her the once over. "Oh do shut up Gene." She retorted, attempting to close the door on him, but Gene wasn't having any of it, he barged his way in through the half closed door, inadvertently pushing Alex backwards into her own flat.

She landed with a thud on her back, the force knocking the wind out of her, she looked up to see Gene standing over her, "Yer no good down there, put the kettle on would yer," He smirked, helping her up before making himself comfortable on her sofa. Alex mumbled incoherently, but made her way into the kitchen to make two cups of tea seriously contemplating making Gene's disgustingly undrinkable as punishment for invading her privacy. Gene on the other hand had kicked off his shoes and had made himself comfortable in the spot Alex had recently vacated. There was no way Bolly was getting away without talking about this properly.

Alex settled for giving Gene a regular cup of tea, she really couldn't be bothered with him right now and just wanted him to drink it up and leave, although she knew that would never happen. She took the two cups into the living area and stood in front of Gene, holding one of the cups out to him, when he had taken it off her she sat down at the other end of the sofa, tucking her legs underneath herself.

She held onto the cup with both hands, taking a sip of the warm liquid every now and then. Gene was watching her, he knew something was bothering her, and he knew that it was likely to have something to do with what she had told him earlier. "What are you doing here Gene?" She asked at last, her voice heavy with emotion. "What do you want?" You. The word screamed in Gene's head. He mentally shook himself. This was neither the time nor the place...well maybe the place..."I need yer t' tell me what's wrong Bolly. An' not just any little bits yer feel like, the whole bloody thing. From the beginning" he looked into her face, searching for understanding, seeing no attempt on her part to answer he continued. "I asked yer for this earlier but I could tell yer were 'oldin' sommat back from me, yer need to tell the whole story Bolly."

Alex looked away, drinking what was left in the cup, and placing it on the table in front of her she leaned forwards, her head in her hands. She really didn't want to go through it all again, but she knew that Gene wouldn't leave her alone until she did. Sitting back, Alex turned to face him, trying to work out what she would say to him, he was still watching her, waiting patiently for her to say something, to tell him everything. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and looked Gene directly in the eyes. All she could see reflected in them was understanding and caring, she couldn't let him down. He reached over and held her hand gently, thumb stroking her palm, willing her to tell him. His tender gesture gave her the courage to begin. "It all happened one hazy night in July..."


	5. Chapter 5

This is my first Ashes to Ashes fanfic, comments and criticism are welcome (please don't be too harsh hehe)

I'd like to say thank you to wobbleduck for being my beta and so much more...

AN: Just like to say thank you to all of you who have reviewed so far...Keep them coming...please?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything to do with Ashes to Ashes.

* * *

Alex and Sarah were sitting on the sofa in the Robinson's living room; Mr and Mrs Robinson were going through the emergency telephone numbers for the fifth time since they had arrived. Sarah had sat for them before, but it was the first time the Robinson's had allowed her to have a friend with her, they had only stayed out until about 10pm previously, tonight they were staying out longer, Alex and Sarah were giddy with the responsibility they had been given. They both stood up to say goodnight to the Robinson's, "Have a good time," Sarah told them, "Robbie and Chloe will be in bed by 8pm." She glanced down at the children who were sitting on the floor playing with various toys. Alex just nodded her head in agreement, it was the first time she had been allowed to stay anywhere other than home, and she was excited. Sarah followed the Robinson's to the front door to wave them off, Alex stayed in the living room with the children.

As soon as the Robinson's left, Sarah went back into the living room and sat back down on the sofa next to Alex, who looked up at the clock, it read 7.15pm. "So, what do you usually do? I mean, before you put them to bed?" Alex asked her, this was all so very new for her, her godfather didn't like her to stay over at friends' houses, never mind babysitting for another family. "Just keep them occupied until its bedtime, then I put them to bed and read them a story. They usually go to sleep straight away, the rest of the night we can do what we like, as long as we don't wake them up. I've brought a video over for us to watch." Alex smiled at her and looked at the clock again, Sarah laughed at her, "Watching the clock isn't going to make time go faster you know."

At 7.45pm Sarah stood up, "Come on then, Robbie, Chloe. Bedtime, and if you ask nicely Alex might read you a story tonight." Both of the children put their toys away, and ran up the stairs giggling. "Come on then, time to read them a story," Sarah told Alex, "Don't forget to brush your teeth." She shouted up to the children, pulling Alex up off the sofa and following them upstairs. Alex and Sarah were giggling quietly as they got the top of the stairs, they didn't want to get the children all hyped up again. "Come on then, you two brushed your teeth yet?" Sarah said, knocking on the bathroom door, pushing it open a little, stepping back as the two children ran past her and into their bedroom. Alex laughed out loud, but then covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the sound, better not start them off she thought to herself.

"Ok, which book do you want me to read?" Alex asked them both, hoping they wouldn't start an argument over it. To her relief they both shouted, "The Twits!" Sarah just laughed and shook her head at them, "They love that book," She whispered to Alex, who had picked up the book and sat herself on the end of Robbie's bed. Sarah sat on the end of Chloe's bed; they had gotten into bed on their own, and were laid waiting for Alex to start the book. "Alright then, The Twits it is," She smiled, opening the book.

She had only been reading to them for half an hour when Sarah motioned for her to stop reading. Alex closed the book and lay on the bottom of Robbie's bed, making sure that she didn't disturb him. When they both left the room, Alex closed the door over, but making sure it wasn't closed properly, she wanted to be able to hear them if they woke up. Sarah and Alex tiptoed back down the stairs, giggling as they both fell through the door to the living room. "Video time I think," Sarah said, "I brought The Sound of Music, mum wouldn't let me bring anything too scary." She laughed, "Said I had to bring something happy, I thought this would do." Alex smiled, "The Sound of Music is fine." She sat down on the sofa and made herself comfortable, while Sarah put the video in the player and turned the TV on. Sarah sat down next to Alex; they both sang a long to the opening music, but quietly so as to not wake the children up.

The film was about halfway through, both Sarah and Alex had given up singing along with it three songs in, when there was thud from upstairs. "What was that?" Alex asked, as Sarah pressed pause on the video remote. "I don't know…" She replied, whispering, "It came from upstairs." Alex got up off the sofa and stood in the door way, listening for any other noise. "I don't hear anything. I can go check though, I need the toilet anyway." She walked out of the door, and tiptoed back up the stairs, trying not to make a sound, looking back to see Sarah stood in the living room door way, waiting for Alex to come back downstairs.

Upstairs, Alex looked in on the children, checking to see if the noise had woken them up. It didn't look like it had woken them up when she first went into the room, but as she was closing the door back over on her way out, she noticed that the book that she had left on the bottom of Robbie's bed was on the floor, she went back in a picked it up, putting it on the bookshelf on her way back out of the room. It was then that she saw Robbie had sat up and was rubbing his eyes. "Hey, it's ok, it's ok, let's get you back to sleep aye?" She whispered to him, walking back over to him. Covering him over, she sat on the end of his bed again and started to sing to him, she stayed there singing quietly until he fell asleep again, then she walked back out of the room, closing the door over a little.

Alex stood at the top of the stairs and looked down, she couldn't see Sarah in the door way, and heard The Sound of Music playing again. 'She got bored of waiting' she thought to herself, turning to the bathroom, she still hadn't been to the toilet. Alex kept quiet when she came back out of the bathroom and crept down the stairs so that she didn't wake Robbie or Chloe up. She was about halfway down the stairs when she heard a thudding sound from in the living room, as though something had been thrown to the floor, she moved down to the next step and looked in through the open living room door, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but something told her not to call out to Sarah.

When she was looking for Sarah from the stairs, Alex heard another thud, but she couldn't work out what the noise was, she still didn't call out, and instead tiptoed a little further down the stairs, stopping when she heard Sarah, she was crying, but it was muffled, like something was covering her mouth. Alex was rooted to the spot. She heard another muffled cry, and then the word 'stop' repeated over and over again, Sarah was begging.

Alex crept further down the stairs, stopping twice, making sure that she hadn't been heard. She sat down on the floor behind the door frame, holding back sobs; she didn't want to be heard. She looked around the door frame but could only see the back of somebody, somebody she didn't recognise. Something made her look up to the mirror that was hung on the wall above the fireplace but she couldn't see anything, but then they stood up, and she saw his face, reflected in the mirror. Alex held back a gasp, and ducked back behind the door frame, sitting with her back against the wall.

After a second or two, Alex looked back around the door frame, she was looking for Sarah, she still couldn't see her, but she knew she was there, she could be heard, crying and begging, begging the man to stop and leave her alone. A couple of minutes later everything went silent, Alex couldn't hear Sarah crying, she couldn't hear the man in the room, she couldn't hear anything, she held her breath, frightened of being found.

"I just sat there, I didn't know what to do," Alex was whispering, "I heard footsteps, they were moving away from me but I still just sat there." Alex glanced down at her hands, looking back up she spoke again. "He must have gone into the kitchen, I heard water running. I…I didn't know why he would have the tap on. I looked into the room and couldn't see him."

Alex pulled her hand away from Gene's hold, she moved to stand up, but decided to stay where she was, Gene just watched her, the expression on his face never changing. "I crept into the living room, I needed to find Sarah. The water stopped, he'd turned the tap off, I thought he was going to come back for me, I couldn't move. I waited for him to come back to me. He didn't, he didn't come back into the living room, I didn't know where he'd gone and I couldn't see Sarah. I just hid, I crawled behind the sofa, and waited, I didn't know what else to do, I didn't want him to find me." Alex was staring at a point on the wall in front of her, she didn't want to look at Gene, she knew she would start crying if she did. She couldn't cry in front of him, not again. What would he think of her?

"I remember reading the papers, I remembered reading them as I sat there; a man was killing people in their homes, taking the children with him. It was all over the news; he only killed the people who had children in the houses. I knew…I just knew it was him, and I waited for him to come back…I waited for him to come back…for me, but he didn't…he didn't come back, I heard him going upstairs…I remembered about the children, how could I have forgotten about the children?" Tears were falling down Alex's face as she remembered. "I still couldn't move…I wanted to…I wanted to get him to come back down, but I couldn't."

Alex stood up and moved away from Gene, she didn't want him to look at her; she didn't want him to see the emotions on her face. "I heard car doors closing, it was Mr and Mrs Robinson, they were home. I remember thinking, 'they are home now, they can get rid of the man.' I could hear them coming up the path to the front door, I crawled out from behind the sofa…That's when I saw her, she was on the floor under the window, there was blood…a lot of blood. It was…it was everywhere Gene. Mr and Mrs Robinson, they came into the living room, the stood just inside the doorway, I remember looking at them, seeing them stood there, looking at me. I couldn't speak to them; I couldn't even look at them for too long. I just turned back to where Sarah was. Mr and Mrs Robinson couldn't have seen her yet, they hadn't said anything. Not to each other, not to me."

Alex finally turned to face Gene; she didn't care what she looked like any more, she didn't care if he saw her tears, she continued before he could interrupt her. "I heard somebody on the stairs again, but it must have been Mr Robinson, they were moving up the stairs, not down. I didn't turn around to check, I couldn't. Mrs Robinson came and stood next to me. She screamed, it was so loud, so loud, right in my ear, but I still couldn't move, my feet wouldn't move. It was like I was stuck. I turned to look at Mrs Robinson; she was on the floor, crying. Her husband came back; he must have heard her screaming and crying. The children were still in their beds, they were still asleep. I told them about the man in the house, Mr Robinson called the police, and an ambulance, but I knew it was too late, Sarah was de…she was dead." Alex's voice cracked, "There was so much blood, too much."

She was crying freely now, her legs buckled under her, Gene caught her before she hit the floor, holding her to him, lowering them both the floor gently. He waited a few seconds before speaking to her, he didn't trust his voice not to betray him, she needed him to be strong for her, and that's what he was going to do. "It's alright, everything is alright." He told her, for the second time that day. He sat with her for a while, holding her, and stroking her hair until her crying subsided.

"Come on Bolly, let's get you to bed," Gene whispered, standing and lifting her up with him.


	6. Chapter 6

This is my first Ashes to Ashes fanfic, comments and criticism are welcome (please don't be too harsh hehe)

I'd like to say thank you to wobbleduck for being my beta and so much more...

AN1: Just like to say thank you to all of you who have reviewed so far...Keep them coming...please?

AN2: Sorry for the long delay between the last chapter and this one, there have been a few things preventing me from updating. Thank you for being patient.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything to do with Ashes to Ashes.

* * *

Gene carried her through to the bedroom and laid her gently on the bed. He pulled the blanket over her and sat down on the chair in the corner of her room, watching her. He had been sat there for a few hours, just watching her; reluctant to go to sleep in case she needed him. Gene couldn't stay awake all night, even though he wanted to, 'she's been fine so far' he thought to himself as he let his eyes droop closed.

Alex slept soundly for a while, exhaustion taking over. She was curled up in a ball, hugging the blanket to her. She was vaguely aware of Gene's presence in the room and drew comfort from it. It was almost as if he was lying on the bed next to her, enveloping her in his arms, even though he was 6 feet away. The faint smell of cigarettes, whisky and cheap cologne wafted through the air and she smiled a little, even if her world was about to be turned upside down it was comforting to know that she could smell his distinctive scent and feel like she was in the safest place in the world. That was Alex's last thought before she drifted into a peaceful slumber.

Gene jerked awake a few hours later and glanced at the clock on the bedside table while wiping the sweat from his brow. Its garish digital display read 04:47. _Shit_ He breathed deeply and leaned his head back against the chair. He'd had an awful dream. He'd dreamt of the car bomb again but instead of Tim and Alex Price going up in flames and him saving little Alex Price it was his Alex engulfed in flames, her pretty face streaked with tears before the flames consumed it. He'd had this dream before but never so vivid. In it he always arrived too late to save her from the bomb and had to watch over and over again as she was lost to him forever. Gene opened his eyes again and was met by the pitch black of the room. Slowly his eyes became accustomed to the dark and he stole a glance at Alex's sleeping form on the bed. He could see her chest rising and falling in her sleep. She looked so unworried and serene in her sleep; as if all that was troubling her in her waking hours had slipped away.

His fingers itched to touch her. He'd wanted to every night he'd had these dreams and now he was in the same room as her he could easily cross the 6 foot space between them and hold her while she slept. But he couldn't do that now. Sure they were becoming closer but could he really push the boundaries of their relationship? But still his fingers ached to hold her. He battled with himself for a further five minutes before rising out of the chair and lying down on the bed next to her and bringing her into his arms. She unconsciously snuggled back against him and he buried his face into her neck, breathed in her scent and fell back to sleep.

It was six in the morning when Alex awoke, more rested than she had been since she had arrived in 1981. She smiled to herself and rolled over to stretch, feeling her arm hit something. The something grunted and Alex froze, turning her head to see Gene sprawled out on his back next to her, snoring lightly. The slight movement of Alex caused Gene to roll over and wrap his arm around her, holding her gently, but close to him.

Alex watched him, not moving an inch in case she woke him up. He looked peaceful as he slept, all the tension was gone from his face, he was in fact, dare she think it, smiling a little. It took all her strength not to reach out and run her fingers through his hair.

Half an hour passed before she attempted movement again, all that time Gene had held onto her like his life depended on it, his steady breathing tickled the back of her neck, his thumb slowly stroking a pattern over her stomach. She edged towards the edge of the bed but strong arms again prevented her from leaving. Alex reached down a slowly began tracing circles on the top if his hands. The effect was almost immediate as she felt him loosen up enough to slip out of his embrace and head to the bathroom. She stole one last glance at his sleeping form now lying on his back again, hair tousled and snoring lightly. One of life's rare miracles...the Manc Lion curled up like a kitten and almost free from all the stress and worry. It brought a smile to her face as she disappeared into the bathroom.

She sat on top of the closed toilet seat, and put her head in her hands. She had told him everything, well, everything that could be told, twisted to fit in with where she was, and he had comforted her, he had argued with her first, but that was just his way of things, she knew that. So why then did she feel that he was making more of this than was necessary, why was he suddenly so concerned about her? She sat there for a while, deciding whether or not to get back into the bed while she still could, before Gene actually woke up. After a few seconds, she stood up and splashed some cold water over her face, her mind made up.

She had just closed the bathroom door behind her as quietly as she could when the shrill ringing of the phone made her jump. Alex ran over to where the phone was, almost knocking it off the table in the rush to answer it.

"Hello?" She asked quietly, sitting down on the sofa, wondering who could be phoning her this early in the morning. She made sure that she didn't make any more sound than necessary and glanced towards her bedroom door, checking she hadn't disturbed Gene.

Alex listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, not saying anything at first. She was annoyed at the fact that somebody had rung her that early in the morning, her annoyance faded a little when she realised that it was Viv.

"What's wrong Viv?" she asked him in a whispered voice, "Why are you ringing me?"

She listened to Viv as he told her about not being able to get in contact with Gene, and her eyes widened, she hoped Viv hadn't worked out that he was with her, even if the reason was innocent. She covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from crying out loud as Viv continued with the news.

"I'll get in touch with Gene, thank you." Alex said.

She put the phone back on the table and sat on the sofa for a few seconds, composing herself before she had to wake Gene up to let him know everything.

"Who was that?" spoke a gruff voice from the bedroom, making Alex jump.

She turned to face the direction of the voice, her eyes taking in the site of Gene in his crumpled clothes, clearly slept in. She almost forgot what he had asked her.

"Erm….it was Viv…" She said, finding her voice, "He couldn't get hold of you, we have a new case…" She trailed off, finding it hard to repeat what Viv had told her.

Alex stood up and made her way to the kitchen area, making herself busy as she spoke. "Call just came in from Smithdown Road, the others are going to fill us in when we get there." She had boiled the kettle and made both herself and Gene a cup of tea each, taking them back through to the sofa she handed Gene one of the cups. She sat back down on the sofa and took a mouthful of her steaming tea, facing away from where Gene was still stood in her bedroom doorway.

"We better get goin' then," Gene replied, drinking his tea in one mouthful. He took his cup into the kitchen at put it down in the sink. He was just about to put his coat on when Alex stopped him.

"You can't go into the station like that…your shirt is crumpled," She said, taking his coat back off him and walking towards her bedroom, "Come here…"

Gene followed her into the bedroom, watching as she opened the wardrobe door. "If yer think I'm wearin' one o' yer blouses..." He growled at her as she turned around holding one of his grey shirts that had been left there "Well, give it 'ere then" he snapped, taking it off her.

With his fresh shirt on, Gene lead the way out of the flat with Alex not far behind him. Gene burst through the doors of CID "Righ' then yer bunch o' lazy twonks fill me an' 'er ladyship in on the details of just why we've been dragged in this early" He sat down on the edge of Alex's desk, "an' if it's some little old lady who's lost 'er 'andbag then I personally ring all yer necks!"

Alex stood to the side of her desk, her arms folded across her chest, waiting patiently for one of the others to fill them in, smirking slightly as Chris almost jumped out of his seat. "Well then?" She prompted.

"Yes Boss…er Ma'am…," He addressed Alex, stumbling over his words, "The case Guv…looks like that Dowele case…two kiddies 'ave gone missing from an 'owse on Smithdown Road….but it's diff'rent 'cause the sitter's dead…plods say it's a bad scene…" He looked at them both, waiting for either of them to respond, and then glanced behind him at both Shaz and Ray.

Alex gave Gene a look, which he ignored, "Right…Let's fire up the Quattro."


End file.
